Page 116 of Ava: Part Two

"Stop!"

Jared stopped. His eyes opened. And his claws retracted. The expression on his face had gone from resignation to shock.

Was it...? Had she really done that?

Chapter 71

JaredwasanAlpha!Did she really command him to stop?

No, that was impossible. She couldn't feel anything different inside her, though she had no idea what her wolf was supposed to feel like.

Maybe he'd heard the panic in her voice, and as an Alpha, he'd been able to pull himself back.

She knew that she was grasping at straws because she could see how weak Jared was. He wasn't like Zeke or her father. She'd never needed a wolf to know they were stronger than most; it was quite evident in how they held themselves and their auras.

Jared was still a future Alpha of his pack, though, so for the Alpha of another pack to use his Alpha command on him was an insult. His pack would never respect him if they heard about this. Jared had already suffered enough after being attacked by Zeke; why did this have to happen to him, too?

"I said kill her!"

This time, Jared remained in control. She could see it in his eyes even as he took another step forward, and she took one back.

"Make it bloody and gruesome," Alpha Michelson added.

Though she couldn't see him behind Jared's tall frame, she could hear the excitement in his voice. This man was trying to hurt Zeke, but something in her wouldn't allow it.

She knew it was the bond rather than her missing wolf. Like Zeke would for her, she knew she would protect him with her life while she still could. She would protect him from his father.

The flame of anger in her turned into an inferno.

This wasn't what an Alpha was supposed to do. This wasn't what a father was supposed to do.

"What are you waiting for, you useless traitor?" Alpha Michelson snarled.

The door slammed shut behind Jared as if by magic, right in Alpha Michelson's face. They both startled and turned to look at it and immediately, Zeke's father started shouting expletives.

There was a loud bang on the door, which made her jump back. It sounded like he had tried to kick the door down, but it didn't budge. As an Alpha, he was strong enough to have sent the door flying across the room.

She had no idea what was happening, but she took advantage of the distraction and pulled Jared quickly towards the lounge. A door couldn't stop an Alpha for long.

"Mr..."

Even with the threat of death on the other side of that door, she stopped in her tracks when she saw Mr Patrick.

He stood in the middle of the room, arms out and his eyes completely white as he chanted something. He looked like he was in a trance. So he had done that. He’d slammed the door. It was his magic.

She didn't sense any fear from him as she had done before. Mr Patrick was calm. And strong. His magic rolled off her skin like the darkness from the forest and Isolation had done, but it was not the same type of magic.

This one felt pure. It felt right.

The banging on the door pulled her attention back to the urgent matter as the door frame cracked.

"Go to the basement," she whispered to Jared. "The door under the stairs."

She hoped the deranged Alpha outside hadn't heard her. The room was full of silver, and other things she knew were not allowed at the academy, so she assumed it was a secret room. Hopefully, the Alpha didn't know about it.

"Both of you go," Mr Patrick said calmly, still in his trance-like state. "He fortified himself with something. He's stronger than he should be. You don't have much time."

"Come with us," she urged.

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